Sodium Nitrite Supplementation Alters the Human Metabolome in Healthy Middle-Aged and Older Adults (LB703)

Reduced nitric oxide (NO) bioavailability contributes to physiological dysfunction with aging. Oral sodium nitrite supplementation (SN) increases circulating nitrite, a precursor of NO, and improves some physiological functions in middle-aged and older (MA/O) adults. To gain insight into the underlying molecular mechanisms, the metabolome was assessed by liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry in plasma samples from MA/O adults before and after SN (80 mg/d capsules, TheraVasc, Inc.) (n=8, 59±2 yrs) or placebo (P, n=7, 61±3 yrs) (randomized, double blind). Of ~4,000 metabolites detected, significant changes in 37 intermediary metabolites were observed in SN vs. P groups (minimum 1.5 fold-change, p<0.05). Several metabolites associated with a pro-aging phenotype changed with SN, including pro-inflammatory mediators and molecules related to sphingolipid, glycan, glycerophospholipid, fatty acyl, polyketide, and choline metabolism. Importantly, these SN-induced changes occurred in the absence of changes in cli...